Although their seasons ended far too prematurely (again) the Dallas Cowboys still have a lot of talent on their roster which should give them hope going forward. They're also 36-15 over the past three years in the regular season, so they should be back in the playoffs once again following the 2024 campaign.
Having said that, they need to figure out how to get over the hump. That won't be easy to do, however, since they enter the offseason nearly $20 million over the salary cap. That means there will be more work to do in order to get out of the red and make room for new additions. With that focus, here are the top three contracts holding them back right now.
3. Terence Steele, RT: $11 million cap hit in 2024
Dallas has made a couple of mistakes lately when it comes to extensions with one of those being the five-year deal given to Terence Steele. The former undrafted free agent developed into a stellar starter on the right side and deserved to stick around. But the timing of his extension was an issue.
Steele played very well in 2022 but suffered a torn ACL and MCL in a Week 14 contest against the Texans. While recovering, the Cowboys gave him $86.8 million with $50 million of that being guaranteed. Unfortunately, he then struggled in 2023.
Heading into 2024, the Cowboys will be hoping Steele can improve as he gets farther from his surgery. If not, they have a guy who is struggling but carries an $11 million cap hit in 2024 that only goes up from there.
2. Michael Gallup, WR: $13.85 million cap hit in 2024
The main reason Dallas extending Terence Steele fresh off a serious injury was frustrating was the fact that the front office was just burnt for doing the same thing in 2022. Michael Gallup, a former third-round pick, broke out in 2019 with 1,107 yards and six touchdowns. He proved to be a beast at hauling in contested passes and averaged 16.8 yards per grab.
He continued to thrive in 2020 with 843 yards on 59 receptions but then tore his ACL against the Arizona Cardinals in late December. Before Gallup even proved he was healthy, Dallas rewarded him with a five-year extension worth $57.5 million. Making matters worse, they traded Amari Cooper to the Cleveland Browns for practically nothing in order to make the extension happen.
Since signing the deal, Gallup hasn't been close to the player we once saw. He has 73 receptions for 842 yards and six touchdowns over the past two years. That's one fewer yard and just one more touchdown than he had in 2020 before suffering the injury — and his numbers wouldn't even be this good had it not been for them force-feeding him the ball early in the year.
Once Dak Prescott stopped trying to force things with Gallup, the entire offense improved. Both Jalen Tolbert and KaVontae Turpin were more comfortable and effecient when they replaced Gallup which is a sign the Cowboys might need to move on. It just won't be easy.
Gallup enters the offseason with a cap hit of $13.85 million which is sixth on the team — and Terence Steele is right behind him at No. 7. As a pre-June 1 cut, he would cost $13 million in dead money with less than $1 million in savings. Post-June 1 would be much better but they would still be hit with a $4.35 million cap number while saving $9.5 million. It's a tough pill to swallow for someone who once meant so much to this team but they can't keep him at this salary.
1. Dak Prescott, QB: $59.45 million cap hit in 2024
We can argue back and forth until we're unable to form sentences any longer about the worth of Dak Prescott. Many people do just this — even CeeDee Lamb's mom. Major sports networks have admitted to using this talking point to help draw viewership due to the staggering number of people who want to weigh in on the topic.
The Cowboys starting quarterback is simply polarizing. This was the same with Tony Romo and every other quarterback who started for this franchise but couldn't bring home a title. For Prescott, the heat feels deserved right now. He had another remarkable regular season campaign and then threw two pick-sixes in yet another playoff loss.
As fate would have it, Prescott enters a contract year with his latest playoff dud hanging over his head. For those who want to defend him, they'll point out that he turned it around late in the loss to Green Bay and the defense failed them. This is true but again, Prescott started slow while Jordan Love — a first-year starter — came in on fire in his postseason debut.
Having said all of that, Prescott is a top tier quarterback and will get a massive extension. There's chatter about a possible trade but none of this is coming from the Cowboys front office, but rather fan speculated. Dallas is going to keep No. 4 but they can't keep him at his current cap number.
Prescott sits atop the team's salary cap with a hit of $59.5 million. That's more than 20 percent of the team's overall salary and will limit the team's opportunities in the offseason. Before they even think about extending Micah Parsons or Cee DeeLamb — or looking at free agents — they need to address this contract. Dragging their feet crushed them several years ago and we'll see if they learned their lesson yet. Looking at the Gallup/Steele situation, it's not a given that they learned a thing.